Method of aging wine



Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AGING WINEErnst T. Krebs, San Francisco, Calif.

No Drawing. Application August 10, 1936, Serial No. 95,173

Claims. (Cl. 99-48) This invention relates to a method of gin growthcontains the all essential aminosuccinwine. amide principle;

Th ma t ps i the manufacture of W s r Fourth, that there is not asufficient amount of fermentation of crushed fruits to convert thesugenzymes present in the average oak barrel, or like rs t a a allowingh to a in Oak container, to bring about the so-called aging of barrelsfrom which the air is excluded. the wine in a short period of time, andfor this The first step is completed within two months, reason enzymes,from other sources are added to more or less, but the aging process,which usually more rapidly facilitate and expedite the so-called takesplace in oak barrels, takes several years aging process and to morecompletely bring about as the physical, chemical, and biological changesthese desired changes; 10 e place S y and usually 000111 in a ap- Fifth,that by adding treated oak wood to the hazard manner. wine to be aged inthe form of shavings, or the The changes that take place during aging,such like, the area of contact between wood and wine as oxidation,aldehydation and esterification of can be increased to almost anyproportion dethe alcohols are the most essential, and these sired;

changes are principally brought about by the en- Sixth, that the wine tobe aged must be comzymes contained in the oak wood, together withpletely fermented and, in fact, carried beyond the enzymes and yeasts ofthe crushed fruit. alcoholic fermentation until a certain amount of Onereason several years are required for aging acetic acid has been formed,or acetic acid may is due to the small amount of enzymes present headded to wine after alcoholic fermentation is in the oak wood of thebarrels in which aging completed, as the presence of this acid isnecestakes place; and the great length of time it takes sary to promotethe formation of acetyl esters. to bring the liquid contents of thebarrel in direct The operation and process will be as follows: contactwith the deeper and unleached layers of In a room maintained at amoderately warm the wood; for instance, in a fifty gallon barrel,temperature, macerate comminuted white oak there is only about tensquare feet of surface pre- (chips, savings, sawdust, etc.) that hasbeen sented to the liquid content, hence if this area toasted to a lightgolden brown color and some could be doubled, trebled, and so on, theamount raw comminuted oak is placed in approximately a of enzymespresent would be doubled, trebled, one percent solution of magnesiumchloride etc, providing the liquid content would remain and/or asolution of one tenth of one percent apthe same and things being equalthe aging would proximately of calcium chloride for about two take placein a much shorter period of time. hours, after which the solution isdrained and In accordance with the method of the present discarded.invention, the aging of wines may be completed in Now take approximatelyfive grains of emulsin a few months, said method employing practicallycomplex, particularly that derived from the kerthe same physical,chemical and biological phenel of the fruit of Prunus armem'aca(apricot) nomena that occur in aging in oak barrels during which iscomposed of the following enzymes,

a period of several years. prunase, amygdalase, oxynitrilase, lactaseand In arriving at the novel method of the present varying amounts ofcatalase and peroxidase. invention, a number of important discoveriesThe five grains are dissolved in about four ounces 40 have been made inconnection with the aging of (120 grams) of water, or suflicient of themother wines. solution from which these enzymes are derived.

First, that enzymes of the emulsin group play Mix this amount thoroughlywith each gallon an important factor in breaking down certain (3.78liters) of the moist, toasted comminuted constituents of the oak byhydrolysis; white oak wood. Mix this thoroughly twice a day Second, thatthe growth of the cryptogamic in an open container in a moderately warmroom. spores of the oak which produce the amino com- If the wood becomestoo dry, enough water should pounds can be activated into growth and thebe added from time to time to keep it quite moist. growth materiallyfacilitated'by the action of the About the fourth or fifth day the sameamount of enzymes, and further accelerated by the addition emulsin, insolution, is again added, as previously, of a solution of magnesiumchloride and/or caland thoroughly mixed with the moist toasted ciumchloride; comminuted white oak wood in an open container Third, thatground fresh acorns, particularly and likewise stirred and kept for fourto six days, from the Quercus alba, activate the growth of and anyresidual liquid remaining is then drained the cryptogamic spores, whichcryptogamic off. 5,

Now add to each gallon (3.78 liters) of the thoroughly drained treatedtoasted comminuted white oak wood about two ounces (60 grams) of Whiteoak acorn meal and mix thoroughly and pack the slightly moist comminutedoak wood in a percolator or self draining vat and cover tightly andleave for about two to four days.

Now the new wine is added in which the alcoholic fermentation has beencompleted and a certain amount of acetic acid has formed, that is, atleast enough to give the new wine a distinctly sour taste. If the totalamount of wine to be treated is one hundred gallons, it is added toapproximately twenty (20) gallons of the treated comminuted oak woodwhich has been allowed to become partly dry, the proportion bymeasurement of the treated wood to wine being about one to five. Afterthe wine has been added it is permitted to remain in contact with theWood for about twenty-four hours, after which it is drained off andafter forty-eight hours, more or less, it is again poured back on thecomminuted wood and left for another fortyeight hours. It is then againdrained off and placed in a tight container in a warm place and afterthirty to ninety days it is ready for bottling and consumption.

The first step in the treatment of the comminuted oak wood, to wit, thatof saturating it with a solution of magnesium chloride and/or calciumchloride acts to accelerate the growth of the cryptogamic spores. Thesecond step, which consists in adding the emulsin complex, plays animportant factor as it causes breaking down of certain constituents ofthe oak wood by hydrolysis and it, furthermore, brings about rapid agingof the wine by very materially increasing the amount of enzymes present.The third step, to wit, that of adding the ground acorn meal is alsoimportant as the yeast content of the acorn meal facilitates thecryptogamic' growth, the breaking down of the tannins, and furthers theprocess of oxidation. The method of treating the wine is also importantas holding the new wine until it passes from the alcoholic slightly tothe acetic stage of fermentation is essential, or addition of aceticacid must be made, as it is the acetic acid from which the acetyl estersare formed, these being necessary as they give both bouquet and flavorto the wine.

It should, however, be understood that other esters are formed duringthe process which give both bouquet and flavor, for instance, succinicacid is broken down from the amino-succinamlde of the cryptogamicgrowth.

Wine treated according to the above process is completed usually in fromthree to four months time, and it has the body, bouquet and tasteequivalent to Wine aged in barrels over a number of years.

While many features of the invention have been more or less specificallydescribed, it is to be understood that variations in the mode oftreatment may be resorted to and, similarly, where specific materialshave been specified, others may obviously be substituted within thescope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:-

1. A method of aging wine which consists in holding new wine until itpasses from the alcoholic slightly into the acetic stage offermentation, moistening comminuted pulp obtained from white oak woodwith a solution containing an emulsin complex, adding the pulp to thewine and then drawing off the Wine and aging the wine in a closedcontainer.

2. A method according to claim 1, which consists in moistening thecomminuted pulp or wood with a solution containing an emulsin complexderived from the genus Prunus.

3. A method according to claim 1, which consists in adding the flour offresh acorns, particularly from Quercus alba after the pulp has beentreated with the solution of emulsin complex.

4. A method according to claim 1, which consists in moistening the pulpwith a solution of magnesium chloride and calcium chloride prior to theaddition of the emulsin complex.

5. A method of aging wine which consists in holding new wine until itpasses from the alcoholic slightly into the acetic stage offermentation, moistening comminuted pulp obtained from white oak woodwith a solution of magnesium chloride and calcium chloride, adding asolution containing an emulsin complex, adding the pulp to the wine, andthen drawing off the wine and aging the wine in a closed container.

6. A method of aging wine which consists in holding new wine until itpasses from the alcoholic slightly into the acetic stage offermentation, moistening comminuted pulp obtained from white oak woodwith a solution of magnesium chloride and calcium chloride, adding asolution containing an emulsin complex, adding flour of fresh acorns,adding the pulp to the wine and then drawing off the wine and aging thewine in a closed container.

7. A method according to claim 1, which consists in moistening the pulpwith a solution of magnesium chloride prior to the addition of theemulsin complex.

8. A method according to claim 1, which con sists in moistening the pulpwith a solution of calcium chloride prior to the addition of the emulsincomplex.

9. A method of aging wine which consists in subjecting juice from whichthe wine is to be made to fermentation and holding the fermenting juiceuntil alcoholic fermentation is substantially completed, adding aceticacid to the wine, moistening comminuted pulp obtained from white oakwith a solution containing an emulsin com plex, adding the pulp to thewine and then drawing off the wine and aging the wine in a closedcontainer.

10. A method of aging wine which consists in subjecting juice from whichthe wine is to be made to fermentation and holding the fermenting juiceuntil alcoholic fermentation is substantially completed, adding aceticacid to the wine, moistening comminuted pulp obtained from white oakwith a solution of magnesium chloride and calcium chloride, adding asolution containing an emulsin complex, adding flour of fresh acorns,adding the wine to the pulp, and then drawing off the wine and aging thewine in a closed container.

ERNST T. KREBS.

